Harvey Greenleaf could become a politician, I'm sure he could be a lobbyist even after being a convited tarrorist. Something to allow him to push antirobot laws.

In the chaos of Blackout I could see Xander escaping and I could see more people joining him after how technology failed everyone.

It would be an interesting to up the tention between Xander and Theo if he and Simone want to retire and go into hiding. I'd like to see a technology free or robot free communities explored throught them like seen in the movie "Surrogates". If Simone was pergant that would up the risk in Thoe's realationship with her and his brother. I'd also like to see the past explored between Simone and Krantz.

Harvey didn't really leave much of an impression for me. He was pretty much the 'face' of the Ruby Spears and it was really Xander's obsessed ambition that mainly drove the whole operation.

I do like how there is a growing inner conflict in Theo and to how and when he'll eventually have to choose between his brother and new-found love, Simone. We know that Xander is the only family he has and must have each other's backs. But there'll have to be a point where he'll start questioning, or even draw a line and remind Xander on how well this has worked for them in the past.

"Bro look, you know I love you with all my heart, but we have failed several times already by that blue robot boy. You keep saying robots are bad, but it's that one robot that manages to save the day each and every time, making us look like the bad guys instead. Maybe it's time to ditch this whole crazy crusade and see that there's more to life than letting fear take control of it. I know I'm already looking at mine. *glances at Simone*

Just a honest, heartfelt talk a younger brother would give to his older brother, with a touch of romance at the end. Xander appears both shocked and almost looks like he's understanding every word, only for him to snap back to his paranoid side, punch his brother and label him and Simone as traitors.

I think it goes without saying the Emerald Spears, or at least its three head honchos, will escape from prison. After all, when has prison ever stopped a bad guy from escaping?

Personally, I think Emerald Spears is the BEST thing that has happened in this comic. Yes, Wily and space enemies are all well and good, but they have two major problems:

1. Predictability - We already know what happens with them. The comic is following the games closely (too closely for me, actually), so we already know the story lines. Sure Ian will throw in a few surprises along the way, but by and large we know what is going to happen before it happens.

2. Monotony - I am all for Wily being the big bad villain. He is the primary antagonist and nothing will change that - nor should it. But if the comic just chugs along popping out game adaptations for all of its major arcs things will get boring quickly. In fact, the comic would be terrible if that is all that happened. Oh wait, then there are even MORE space robots. Joy.

Emerald Spears fills a niche that a long-lasting Mega Man comic will desperately need: an expanded villains list. They also offer something Wily typically does not: the fragility of humanity against the threat of robotics. An added bonus is that it is hard for Mega Man to fight them without squishing or blasting them to bits. It will allow the comic to explore a little bit deeper the extent of Mega Man's emotional capabilities and maybe even the loss of life from his hands (but I doubt the comic has the guts to go there - I do not even think Capcom would allow another Mega Man 7 scenario). Emerald Spears also has a unique perspective on the world that is different from every main character and really explores a different side of the Mega Man world.

So basically I think Emerald Spears kicks butt. I want more of them. Much, much more!

There are many ways they can proceed from here (none of these are really fan ideas, just a discussion of the Emerald Spears as a concept):

1. Xander has shown that he is capable of mass murder. This is an area that needs deeper exploration. So he hates robots and lost his eye to one. But it is still a pretty large leap from that to blowing up the equivalent of Times Square. How did he go that deep?

2. What does Emerald Spears think of Dr. Wily? This has not been explored at all yet. I would imagine they hate him even more than Dr. Light. It would be a good scenario to explore, as well as character and world building, to have some Emerald Spears VS Dr. Wily interaction, or even battles between them.

3. What does Emerald Spears think of space robots… actually, I don’t even care about this one.

All in all, I really like these guys, and I think the comic should really look deeper at them. They have so much potential and should not be regulated to tertiary antagonists. The book will be a lot stronger if it builds these guys up.

I know Ian doesn’t post on the Mega Man forums too much, but I would be really interested to hear what he thinks about this terrorist group he has created, as well as what he thinks about their potential.

megamanmonthly wrote:Something that hasn't been brought up is Simone. I'm dying to learn about her past with Roslyn and the police academy.

Just pointing out they just said academy, yeah technically it all police but Roslyn and Stern don't seem to be part of the normal police.

Roslyn and Gil are federal agents, so I think it's pretty clear that Roslyn was referencing a police academy. But for argument's sake... Simone's exact quote to Roslyn is, "You were the one who reported me. You ruined everything! And now I've found a new way to make a difference!" Considering her new way of "making a difference" is by joining a vigilante extremist group, I think it's safe to say that her old way was the other end of the peace-keeping, justice-passing spectrum... law enforcement.